DOCSLIB.ORG

STRANGER Than Fiction Submissive and Self-Sacrificing Asian Female

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
STRANGER Than Fiction Submissive and Self-Sacrificing Asian Female powerful Western male dominates a stereotypically STRANGER Than Fiction submissive and self-sacrificing Asian female. A British Businessman’s Death Today, recession-battered Westerners seeking a foothold Mirrors a Broadway Hit in booming China must assimilate to its customs and ways of doing business. I experienced this firsthand by David Henry Hwang starting in 2005, when I began traveling there regularly. As a Chinese-American born in Los Angeles, I was raised with few customs from my parents’ homeland. Yet China In my play, Chinglish, which had a well-reviewed run on had become interested in Broadway musicals, and I Broadway, a Midwestern American businessman travels to happened to be the only even-nominally Chinese person the inland Chinese city of Guiyang in hopes of landing a who has ever written a Broadway show, so I found myself contract for his firm, only to become enmeshed in multiple there discussing proposals for productions. These ideas misunderstandings, from language to love. The play, a ultimately amounted to nothing, but provided me with an comedy, seemed to strike audiences as one small step amazing opportunity to learn about China today. toward greater cultural understanding. Chinese nationals with whom I spoke after the show, however, sometimes raised one quibble about my script, which includes an extramarital affair between the American businessman and the wife of a Communist Party official. This, they said, might make for good drama, but couldn’t actually happen in China. Such a woman would never enter into a close relationship with a foreign man. Against that backdrop, the dramatic fall of former Chinese Politburo member Bo Xilai has been particularly fascinating. The scandal is set in the inland Chinese city of Chongqing, where Bo rose to become a party leader, with a cast of characters that includes his wife, Gu Kailai, who is being investigated in the mysterious death of British businessman Neil Heywood. Bo, meanwhile, has been stripped of his government post. As the story broke, I began receiving email from journalists and China experts who had seen my show. “Chinglish a la Agatha Christie!” wrote one. “Chinglish as a murder mystery!” suggested another. It’s true that the Bo story has taken similarities between Playwright David Henry Hwang; photo by Lia Chang art and life to a whole new level. The play features a British consultant who arranges for the son of a Chinese official Though I took a couple of years to Mandarin in college, to be admitted to an English university. Neil Heywood got I basically speak only English. Like any monolingual Bo’s son into England’s Harrow School. In Chinglish, an American, I needed an interpreter for my Chinese meetings. official is arrested on corruption charges, which serve as a On one trip, I was taken to a brand-new cultural center, pretext for a behind-the-scenes power struggle. Similarly, which featured gorgeous Brazilian wood, Italian marble, the downfall of Bo and his wife is widely regarded as a bid and state-of-the-art Japanese sound systems. The lone flaw to remove him from office in advance of a major Chinese was the signage, which had been translated into laughable leadership transition. English, commonly known as “Chinglish.” The handicapped restrooms, for instance, were labeled “Deformed Man’s More than two decades ago, I wrote another play, M. Toilet.” I began imagining a play about doing business in Butterfly, inspired by the true story of a French diplomat’s China that would deal with the issue of language. Roughly 20-year affair with a Chinese citizen, who turned out to one-quarter of the dialogue in Chinglish is in Mandarin, be (A) a spy and (B) a man in drag. In those days, Western with English translations projected onto a screen for non- nations dominated the world. A European man involved Chinese speakers. with a Chinese woman could still live the fantasy of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, in which a richer and more Just as the English supertitles allow Western audiences to understand what would otherwise remain mysterious, I wanted the story to illuminate differences between Chinese and American cultural assumptions. Though I’d often heard CULTURE CLASH stories about foreign firms and deals gone wrong, I still had 10 Major Cultural Differences more to learn. An early draft of my play, for instance, included Between China and the USA a scene where a British consultant visits a disgraced Chinese official in prison. Our show’s cultural advisers spoke with numerous experts before deciding that such a scenario would 1. Social Structure be impossible; no such visit would ever be allowed. So I In China the social structure is formal and hierarchical. rewrote it. You know where you fit in the structure and you abide by the rules there. There is no crossing into other areas. In today’s China, unlike that of M. Butterfly, a Western man In America, it is much more loose and informal. It is involved with an Asian woman might well end up as the not uncommon to see those of various social levels submissive partner. So has any news outlet suggested a sexual socializing and knowing each other. There are very few lines that socially are not allowed to be crossed. This can relationship between Madame Gu and Neil Heywood? Not in cause problems in business relationships if the visiting China. Between the lines, however, one can read implications: culture is unaware of it. Madame Gu grew “too close” to a foreign businessman, leading to his murder, she suffered from “bouts of depression,” she 2. Confrontation/Conflict apparently asked those in her “inner circle” to “divorce their If you are planning on ducting business in China or spouses” and swear allegiance to her and her husband. Still, to expecting an extended stay, it might be useful to know my knowledge, no article in China has explicitly suggested a that the direct way that most Americans approach romantic affair. issues is not the way to go in China. Direct conflict or confrontation over issues is highly frowned upon. The story in Hong Kong, however is different. There, on April Doesn’t matter that the “truth” needs to be spoken, 12, the Apple Daily published a piece headlined: respect and honor to each person supersedes that. To CUCKOLDED BO ORDERED THE KILLING. prove a point and show yourself in the right even over GU KAILAI RUMORED TO BE business issues is considered shameful and should be avoided. ROMANTICALLY INVOLVED WITH MURDERED BRITISH BUSINESSMAN. 3. Self It read: “There are rumors that Heywood was murdered The Chinese looks more at the group collective than at because he knew the secrets about the Bo family fortune and individualism. America has become known for its push of individualism which has been a source of conflict with had an affair with Mrs. Bo. There are even rumors that Bo was other cultures that look collectively. A person from China angered he was cuckolded so he ordered the killing... Some is more prone to look at how their acts affect the whole reports claim that two days after the death of Neil Heywood, instead of how it affects them personally. They are more Gu Kailai and Heywood’s widow met at a Chongqing café with willing to give up and sacrifice for the greater good. military police guarding the entrance and clearing out all the America’s individualism has been its backbone and the customers. According to these reports, people could hear Gu reason for is success as a world power, but when visiting weeping, and in the end, Heywood’s widow agreed to forgo an China it needs to be reined in. autopsy. The official report would declare excessive alcohol as the cause of death, and the body would be cremated.” 4. Face/Reputation Reputation of the individual is very important in China. That piece came two days after a government announcement If an action will humiliate someone or ruin a reputation, that Madame Gu was under investigation for the “intentional it is avoided. When shame occurs, the person sacrifices homicide” of Heywood, and that Bo had been stripped of their job or whatever it is that will heal the shame. In his party roles. The Apple Daily version of events may be America, reputations come and go overnight and in sensationalized fiction. But it at least made explicit the the end usually does not matter. The end result is more suspicions of many people. of the focus. A person is more likely to overlook a reputation to get the job done. Still, it’s unlikely we’ll ever learn the true facts of this case. For Chinese officials, obsessed with “face,” the real scandal is 5. Business Relations that ordinary Chinese, even foreigners, have seen the inner When doing business in China, be prepared for much workings of the nation’s ruling elite. Chinglish uses power socializing. Business become secondary as the parties struggles, plot twists and translated supertitles to make get to know each better. If it delays a contract, that is transparent what is normally hidden to outsiders. In the real perfectly acceptable as long as the correct social time is China, though truth may be as strange as fiction, it is almost always less transparent. allotted for. In America, business associates are usually will respect the other person and treat them well. Their more aloof. There might be some social gathering, but needs are met at each encounter. This is a characteristic the business is more important and the socializing will that unfortunately has fallen on the wayside in most be sacrificed to get the job done if needed.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Full Interview David Henry Hwang & Mae Ngai
    An Interview with Mae Ngai & David Henry Hwang Professors Mae Ngai and David Henry Hwang spoke with us about the impact of COVID-19 on Asian-American communities. We discussed historical forces that have shaped the "model minority" and "perpetual foreigner" stereotypes; the need for bystander training and intersectional allyship; whether art can catalyze social change; and more. Interviews were conducted separately and over the phone. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. By: Meghan Gilligan Racism against Asian Americans is not new. How would you contextualize the violence we’ ve witnessed in the past year within the larger history of anti-Asian racism in the U.S.? David Henry Hwang: I think Asians in this country have always been saddled with a perpetual foreigner stereotype. It doesn’t matter how many generations your forebears may have been here, you still get asked: “Where are you really from?” That is a microaggression, but as a result, the way that we are accepted or not accepted here is always a function of America’s relationship to Asia. In periods when there is hostility between the U.S. and Asia, Asian-Americans get caught in the crossfire. That includes World War II and the incarceration of Japanese Americans. It includes the murder of Vincent Chin in the 1980s, when there was tension between the U.S.and Japan, and unemployed auto workers mistook him for Japanese and killed him because they’d lost their jobs. It includes the racial profiling and hate attacks against South-Asian Muslims after 9/11.
    [Show full text]
  • 9 Short Plays from the Longest Year of Our Lives
    LONG STORY SHORT 9 SHORT PLAYS FROM THE LONGEST YEAR OF OUR LIVES Sponsored by Linda Archer The Law Office of Steven Edward Buckingham Bob & Bev Howard Meghan Riordan & Chris Prince Debra & Tom Strange A Friend of The Warehouse Theatre THE WAREHOUSE THEATRE RECEIVES GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM THE JEAN T. AND HEYWARD G. PELHAM FOUNDATION AND THE HARRIET WYCHE ENDOWMENT BREAK Featuring MACHETE ORDER A LEG! by Marco Ramirez the 1 Sending our well wishes to by Cammi Stilwell Warehouse Theatre for a THIS IS DEREK by Paul Grellong spectacular show run. GERMS by Dorothy Fortenberry THE DESERT by Janine Salinas Schoenberg WAS HERE by Donald Jolly THE RELIEF OF TRUTH by Avery Sharpe SHOOTS fuelforbrands.com by Kristoffer Diaz HOPE by Bekah Brunstetter THE WAREHOUSE THEATRE PRESENTS LONG STORY SHORT BREAK Featuring MACHETE ORDER A LEG! by Marco Ramirez the 1 Sending our well wishes to by Cammi Stilwell Warehouse Theatre for a THIS IS DEREK by Paul Grellong spectacular show run. GERMS by Dorothy Fortenberry THE DESERT by Janine Salinas Schoenberg WAS HERE by Donald Jolly THE RELIEF OF TRUTH by Avery Sharpe SHOOTS fuelforbrands.com by Kristoffer Diaz HOPE by Bekah Brunstetter THE VIDEOTAPING OR MAKING OF ELECTRONIC OR OTHER AUDIO AND/OR VISUAL RECORDINGS OF THIS PRO- DUCTION OR DISTRIBUTING RECORDINGS OF ANY MEDIUM, INCLUDING THE INTERNET, IS STRICTLY PROHIB- ITED, A VIOLATION OF THE AUTHOR’S RIGHTS AND ACTIONABLE UNDER UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT LAW. FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR There have been many adjustments we’ve had to make at The Warehouse over the past 15 months.
    [Show full text]
  • Curran San Francisco Announces Cast for the Bay Area Premiere of Soft Power a Play with a Musical by David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Curran Press Contact: Julie Richter, Charles Zukow Associates [email protected] | 415.296.0677 CURRAN SAN FRANCISCO ANNOUNCES CAST FOR THE BAY AREA PREMIERE OF SOFT POWER A PLAY WITH A MUSICAL BY DAVID HENRY HWANG AND JEANINE TESORI JUNE 20 – JULY 10, 2018 SAN FRANCISCO (March 6, 2018) – Today, Curran announced the cast of SOFT POWER, a play with a musical by David Henry Hwang (play and lyrics) and Jeanine Tesori (music and additional lyrics). SOFT POWER will make its Bay Area premiere at San Francisco’s Curran theater (445 Geary Street), June 20 – July 8, 2018. Produced by Center Theatre Group, SOFT POWER comes to Curran after its world premiere at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles from May 3 through June 10, 2018. Tickets for SOFT POWER are currently only available to #CURRAN2018 subscribers. Single tickets will be announced at a later date. With SOFT POWER, a contemporary comedy explodes into a musical fantasia in the first collaboration between two of America’s great theatre artists: Tony Award winners David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly, Flower Drum Song) and Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home). Directed by Leigh Silverman (Violet) and choreographed by Sam Pinkleton (Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812), SOFT POWER rewinds our recent political history and plays it back, a century later, through the Chinese lens of a future, beloved East-meets-West musical. In the musical, a Chinese executive who is visiting America finds himself falling in love with a good-hearted U.S. leader as the power balance between their two countries shifts following the 2016 election.
    [Show full text]
  • Finding, Reclaiming, and Reinventing Identity Through DNA: the DNA Trail
    The Japanese Journal of American Studies, No. 23 (2012) Finding, Reclaiming, and Reinventing Identity through DNA: The DNA Trail Yuko KURAHASHI* The DNA Trail: A Genealogy of Short Plays about Ancestry, Identity, and Utter Confusion (2011) is a collection of seven fifteen-to-twenty minute plays by veteran Asian American playwrights whose plays have been staged nationally and internationally since the 1980s. The plays include Philip Kan Gotanda’s “Child Is Father to Man,” Velina Hasu Houston’s “Mother Road,” David Henry Hwang’s “A Very DNA Reunion,” Elizabeth Wong’s “Finding Your Inner Zulu,” Shishir Kurup’s “Bolt from the Blue,” Lina Patel’s “That Could Be You,” and Jamil Khoury’s “WASP: White Arab Slovak Pole.” Conceived by Jamil Khoury and commissioned and developed by Silk Road Theatre Project in Chicago in association with the Goodman Theatre, a full production of the seven plays was mounted at Silk Road Theatre Project in March and April 2010.1 On January 22, 2011, Visions and Voices: The USC Arts and Humanities Initiative presented a staged reading at the Uni- versity of Southern California, Los Angeles, using revised scripts. The staged reading was directed by Goodman Theatre associate producer Steve Scott, who had also directed the original production.2 San Francisco–based playwright Gotanda has written plays that reflect his yearning to learn the stories of his Japanese American parents, and their friends and relatives. His plays include A Song for a Nisei Fisherman (1980), The Wash (1985), Ballad of Yachiyo (1996), and Sisters *Associate Professor, Kent State University 285 286 YUKO KURAHASHI Matsumoto (1997).
    [Show full text]
  • M. Butterfly As Total Theatre
    M. Butterfly as Total Theatre Mª Isabel Seguro Gómez Universitat de Barcelona [email protected] Abstract The aim of this article is to analyse David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly from the perspective of a semiotics on theatre, following the work of Elaine Aston and George Savona (1991). The reason for such an approach is that Hwang’s play has mostly been analysed as a critique of the interconnections between imperialism and sexism, neglecting its theatricality. My argument is that the theatrical techniques used by the playwright are also a fundamental aspect to be considered in the deconstruction of the Orient and the Other. In a 1988 interview, David Henry Hwang expressed what could be considered as his manifest on theatre whilst M. Butterfly was still being performed with great commercial success on Broadway:1 I am generally interested in ways to create total theatre, theatre which utilizes whatever the medium has to offer to create an effect—just to keep an audience interested—whether there’s dance or music or opera or comedy. All these things are very theatrical, even makeup changes and costumes—possibly because I grew up in a generation which isn’t that acquainted with theatre. For theatre to hold my interest, it needs to pull out all its stops and take advantage of everything it has— what it can do better than film and television. So it’s very important for me to exploit those elements.… (1989a: 152-53) From this perspective, I would like to analyse the theatricality of M. Butterfly as an aspect of the play to which, traditionally, not much attention has been paid to as to its content and plot.
    [Show full text]
  • LIVE from LINCOLN CENTER “Falsettos” TCA Biographies ANDREW C. WILK Andrew C. Wilk Is a Multiple Emmy Award-Winning Producer
    LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER “Falsettos” TCA Biographies ANDREW C. WILK Andrew C. Wilk is a multiple Emmy Award-winning producer and director whose career has encompassed leading roles in many areas of commercial and educational content. Since his arrival at Lincoln Center in 2011, he has served as executive producer of Live From Lincoln Center episodes ranging from classical music to dance to theatre. Prior to his work at Lincoln Center, Wilk served as Chief Creative Officer at Sony Music Entertainment, where he oversaw all visual content for Sony’s label groups and spearheaded Sony’s digital expansion. He also served as Founding Programmer and Executive Vice President of Programming and Production for the National Geographic Channel, where he launched the channel and developed its initial programming and scheduled and commissioned new programs, including specials with PBS and NBC. Wilk has won five Emmy Awards and received 15 nominations. Over the course of his career, he has produced or directed more than 1,000 television shows, ranging from children’s programming to news to commercial entertainment, in addition to continuing his work as a conductor of live music concerts. JAMES LAPINE James Lapine collaborated with Stephen Sondheim as author and director for Sunday in the Park With George; Into the Woods; Passion; and the multi-media revue Sondheim on Sondheim. He also directed Merrily We Roll Along as part of Encores at New York City Center. With William Finn, he has collaborated on March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland, later presented on Broadway as Falsettos and recently revived in 2016; A New Brain; Muscle; and Little Miss Sunshine.
    [Show full text]
  • “Orient” in David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly
    THE REPRESENTATION OF THE “ORIENT” IN DAVID HENRY HWANG’S M. BUTTERFLY SHUCHI GUPTA Ph. D. Research Scholar Department of English and Modern European Languages University of Lucknow (UP) INDIA. The aim of this paper is to critically analyze the representation of an “orient” in David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly. In this drama, gender, racial and imperial discourses intersect and Hwang has been successful in deconstructing these traditional discourses and exposing the fictitiousness of stereotypical image of an orient harboured by the ‘West’. The drama employs postmodernist aesthetics and brilliant theatrical techniques to foreground the deconstruction of traditional representations that follow. Traditionally ‘East’ has always been misrepresented by the west. This misrepresentation is the result of an essentialist view based upon gender and racial discourses. The play also shows how national entity narratives are internalized and adapted in the construction of the individual subject. Key Words: Orientalism, Race, Gender, Identity. INTRODUCTION David Henry Hwang is an American playwright and screen writer. Born on 11 August, 1957 to Chinese American parents, his early plays concerned the role of the Chinese- American and Asian- American in the modern day world. The identity issues that haunt the immigrants and their children have been explored by Hwang in a series of plays. These identity issues arise due to the conflict between ethnic value system which they are obliged to preserve as their authentic identity and the new value system which they are obliged to harmonize with in order to start a new life. The conflict becomes more complicated when it concerns the people of Asian descent because it is placed at the intersection of racism and imperialism.
    [Show full text]
  • Fantasy, Narcissism and David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly
    Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 554 Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Humanities and Social Science Research (ICHSSR 2021) Fantasy, Narcissism and David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly Shu-Yuan Chang1 1School of Foreign Languages, Zhaoqing University, Zhaoqing 526061, China *Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly deconstructs Giacomo Puccini’s Madame Butterfly by entwining a fact happened in 1986 — a French diplomat Bernard Bouriscot who has a multi-year affair with a Chinese man disguised as a woman. Hwang displays how cultural imperialism and the stereotype of the Asian persona through the protagonist Gallimard who unconsciously perceives superiority of Western power over Eastern weakness, and the Western colonial male over the Asian female. Gallimard falls in love with the Chinese actress Song Liling to whom he projects his fantasy of a “perfect woman” without noticing the fact Song Liling is a man and a spy. His relationship with Song can be interpreted by concept of the Other in Western concept. This study discusses how Gallimard in M. Butterfly reflects the “Narcissus myth”, how “Othered self” and “selfed Other” work upon him as well as how Song, as a man, satisfies his Western superiority to the power of control and fantasy to an Oriental woman. Keywords: Cultural imperialism, Stereotype of the Asian persona, Superiority, Fantasy, Narcissus myth, The Other concluded that the diplomat [Bouriscot] must have fallen 1. INTRODUCTION in love not with a person but with a fantasy stereotype” When it comes to the issue of the East and the West, [1].
    [Show full text]
  • Doc ^ the Flower Drum Song ^ Read
    GHCQ3WHX1N ^ The Flower Drum Song \\ Book Th e Flower Drum Song By C Y Lee Penguin Books, United States, 2002. Paperback. Book Condition: New. Reprint. 198 x 128 mm. Language: English . Brand New Book. Originally published in 1957, The Flower Drum Song was a groundbreaking work of popular literature. An immediate bestseller, it inspired the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. This charming, bittersweet tale of romance and the powerful bonds of family tells the story of Wang Ta, who wants what every young American man wants: a great career and a woman to love. Living in San Francisco s Chinatown-with his widowed father, Old Master Wang, who misses the old way of life in China, and his younger brother, who just wants to be a normal American teenager-Wang Ta becomes involved with a series of women as he searches for love and the American dream. Comic, poignant, and sexy, The Flower Drum Song is an astute portrayal of immigrants struggling with assimilation. This edition features a new introduction by David Henry Hwang. READ ONLINE [ 2.53 MB ] Reviews A top quality ebook as well as the typeface used was interesting to see. It usually fails to charge an excessive amount of. Once you begin to read the book, it is extremely difficult to leave it before concluding. -- Dr. Isabell Wiza DDS This written book is excellent. It really is rally fascinating throgh studying period. You are going to like the way the writer write this publication. -- Hadley Ullrich 6VGOW9HYFX ^ The Flower Drum Song # Book Related eBooks Becoming Barenaked: Leaving a Six Figure Career, Selling All of Our Crap, Pulling the Kids Out of School, and Buying an RV We Hit the Road in Search Our Own American Dream.
    [Show full text]
  • Aida (Complete Libretto) Music: Elton John Lyrics: Tim Rice Book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls & David Henry Hwang ------ACT ONE Prologue the MUSEUM
    Aida (complete libretto) Music: Elton John Lyrics: Tim Rice Book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls & David Henry Hwang -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACT ONE Prologue THE MUSEUM Lights up on the Egyptian wing of a Modern Art Museum. A contemporary crowd, chic and beautifully dressed, is gathered around various artifacts, all under glass: a small boat, a model of a soldier with a bow and arrow, a mannequin of AMNERIS, ancient female Pharaoh of Egypt. The crowd moves appreciatively around the exhibits. In the center of the room, also behind glass, is a mysterious object - an ancient burial chamber, a tomb. A man and a woman also dressed in the fashions of today approach the tomb from different sides. They are both drawn to it. They circle it, intrigued as if they have seen it before. The man is RADAMES; the woman is AIDA. In a musical moment, they look up. Their eyes meet and all the action in the room freezes as AMNERIS, wearing a royal headdress, emerges from the glass encasement. As she sings, the cast of the modern museumgoers leaves the stage. 1: EVERY STORY AMNERIS Every story, tale or memoir Every saga or romance Whether true or fabricated Whether planned or happenstance Whether sweeping through the ages Casting centuries aside Or a hurried brief recital Just a thirty-minute ride (AMNERIS steps off of the pedestal and stands before the audience.) Whether bright or melancholy Rough and ready, finely spun Whether with a thousand players Or a lonely cast of one Every story, new or ancient Bagatelle or work of art All are tales of human failing All are tales of love at heart (The lights change violently with a rock and roll chord.
    [Show full text]
  • Aida Tour Announcement Release
    Disney Theatrical Productions Announces To Launch North American Tour Following Premiere at Paper Mill Playhouse February 4 – March 7, 2021 Re-Imagined New Production Directed by Schele Williams and Choreographed by Camille A Brown New York, NY - Disney Theatrical Productions (under the direction of Thomas Schumacher) proudly announces the launch of a new North American tour of Elton John and Tim Rice’s Tony®-winning Broadway smash Aida, following the premiere at Paper Mill Playhouse, February 4 – March 7, 2021. The production will play Charlotte, Chicago, Fort Worth, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Nashville, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., among other cities to be announced. 1 To receive news about the Aida North American tour, please sign-up for email alerts at AidaOnTour.com. For information on the Paper Mill run, visit PaperMill.org. The new production, updated and re-imagined, retains the beloved Tony and Grammy®-winning score and features a book revised by David Henry Hwang, who co-authored the acclaimed original production with Linda Woolverton and Robert Falls. The new Aida is directed by Schele Williams (a member of the original Broadway cast) and choreographed by Tony-nominee Camille A. Brown. Sets and costumes are by seven-time Tony winner Bob Crowley, and lighting is by six-time Tony winner Natasha Katz, who both won Tonys for their work on Aida in 2000. The music department includes Tony Award- recipient Jason Michael Webb (musical supervision), Tony Honor recipient Michael McElroy (vocal arrangements and co-incidental arranger), Jim Abbott (orchestrations) and Tony-winner Zane Mark (dance arrangements). Casting will be announced later this year.
    [Show full text]
  • AIDA Study Guide
    contents information desk Producer’s Note . .2 The production wing Aida Synopsis . .3 Musical Numbers/Character Breakdown . .4 Aida Creators . .5 the collections HISTORY Exhibition . .8 MATH & SCIENCE Exhibition . .14 ARTS & CULTURE Exhibition . .20 SOCIAL STUDIES Exhibition . .26 COMMUNICATIONS Exhibition . .32 Attending the Theatre . .38 Resource Gallery . .39 Producers’ NOTE Using the Guide Welcome to the world of Aida. The story at the center of this contem- porary Aida is the legend that became the libretto of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera of the same name. This classic tale of forbidden love, set against the backdrop of Ancient Egypt and enhanced by the extraordinary talents of its composer and lyricist, Elton John and Tim Rice, makes Aida a unique and special educational tool. information desk information By using the study guide, you will see how Aida exposes us to the past (History), expands our visual and verbal vocabulary (Language Arts), illuminates the human condition (Behavioral Studies), demonstrates a process of analysis and implementa- tion (Math and Science), and encourages creative thinking and expression (The Arts). The study guide was developed as a series of lesson plans that, although inspired by and themed around Aida, can also accompany class study of other literary, theatrical, or historical works. To assist you in preparing your presentation of each lesson, we have included an objective; an excerpt from the lyrics of the Broadway production of Aida; a discussion topic; a writing assignment; and an interactive class activity. A reproducible handout accompanies each lesson unit which contains an essay ques- tion; a creative exercise; and an “after hours activity” that encourages students to interact with family, friends, and the community at large.
    [Show full text]